Court summons a dog ....... 9 month old charged with attempted murder ....

In legal parlance,  a summon is a legal document issued by a court (a judicial summons) or by an administrative agency of government (an administrative summons) for various purposes.  A Summons is a process initiated  by a Court, calling upon a person to appear before a Magistrate. It is used for the purpose of notifying an individual of his legal obligation to appear before the Magistrate as a response to a violation of the law. It is addressed to a defendant in a legal proceeding. Typically, the summons will announce to the person to whom it is directed that a legal proceeding has been started against that person, and that a file has been started in the court records. The summons announces a date and time on which the person must appear in court. A person who is summoned is legally bound to appear before the court on the given date and time.  Wilful disobedience is liable to be punished under Section 174 of IPC. It is a ground for contempt of court.

There can be some funny situations too..... in Apr 2014, a baby was charged with attempted murder, threatening Police and interfering with State affairs – he was not alone, in the company of father and grandfather as part of a mob protesting against gas cuts and price increases; the mob stoned police and gas company workers out to collect overdue bills.  It was in Lahore that the baby cried while his fingerprints were taken by a court official. Internet was ripe on news of the incident and photos of the baby calmly sitting on his grandfather’s lap, drinking bottle of milk after being given bail.   Later, a Pakistani Court threw out  charges of attempted murder against the  nine-month-old baby, in a case that highlighted endemic flaws in the country's legal system and provoked widespread ridicule.

There are stray dogs and there are pet dogs – given great care and spent so much – for some a dog is closer to a member of the family – but in the incident reported widely in US Press, the dog is also a member of the jury.  Going by the reports, New Jersey resident IV Griner probably would not have been too thrilled to receive a jury duty letter – if she were to be human. IV (pronounced Ivy) is a five-year-old German shepherd brought up by the family of Barrett Griner IV and his wife in Bridgetown. Mr Griner named his black and tan pup the name IV Griner as a play on his own name, Barrett Griner the fourth, which he writes using Roman numerals.  He is quoted as saying ‘She’s a female, so I named her “IV” without the “Y” as sort of a play on words.

 When the owners opened the mail box, they were too surprised to find a letter from the Cumberland County Clerk of Courts apparently addressed to the dog  Griner summoning  to report for jury duty. The dog’s name on her vet record appears the same as it does on the summons. Later it was revealed to be a Computer glitch that was to blame in calling the German Shepherd to report for jury duty by the Cumberland County Judiciary.  It was revealed that the Court did not actually request that a dog serve on a jury,  but computer probably misread Griner's numerical suffix IV as his first name. Typically, someone getting such an erroneous jury summons can call the court offices and the error will be fixed; though Griner, 40, who works as a treatment plant operator at the local water department probably did not make one.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

2^nd Sept. 2014.

the migration of Amur falcons from Siberia to South Africa (through Nagaland)

The Amur River or Heilong Jiang  is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China. The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is  also known as the Amur tiger and its declining population has been a  cause of concern for many.  I have recently posted on Putin’s tiger defecting to China………… now this is another post with Amur connection, this time a bird.

The Amur falcon (Falco amurensis) is a fascinating bird in the size of a pigeon. It breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China before migrating in large flocks across India and over the Arabian Sea to winter in Southern Africa.  Today’s The Hindu reports that even as the first flock of Amur falcons from Mongolia have reached Pangti village in Wokha district of Nagaland to mark the advent of another migratory season, the scientific community is eagerly awaiting the arrival of ‘Naga’ and ‘Pangti’ — two Amur falcons which were satellite-tagged in Nagaland last year before the Amur falcons started their journey to South.  The report states that  ‘Naga’ and ‘Pangti’ had been tracked in inner Mongolia on Wednesday and the two satellite tagged birds were expected to arrive in Nagaland anytime in October or early November.  According to conservators,  the arrival of ‘Naga’ and ‘Pangti’ would scientifically establish the long migration route of the Amur falcons from Mongolia to South Africa via Nagaland. However, why the Amur falcons skip Nagaland on their return journey from South Africa to Mongolia will still remain a mystery.

In last Nov,  three Amur falcons — Naga, Pangti and Wokha, named after Nagaland, Pangti village and Wokha district respectively — were satellite-tagged and released in Nagaland’s Doyang forest. They reached South Africa on January 9 after flying over Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Bangladesh, Bay of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and the Arabian Sea. They started their return journey from South Africa in April third week. However, ‘Wokha’ continued to be tracked in Somalia, which probably meant that either the bird died or its satellite-tracking device got detached from its body.  Every year, from October to November, a large number of Amur falcons arrive in the northeast, especially in Nagaland for roosting, from Mongolia en route to their final destination — South Africa. The falcons travel up to 22,000 km a year — known to be one of the longest distance migration of birds.

The amur falcons were getting killed in large numbers in Nagaland and conservation of Amur falcons in Nagaland gained ground from 2012 and in 2013 after which reportedly  no killing of the migratory bird occurred or rather reported. Nagaland Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Trust (NWBCT)  conducts nature camps under its ‘Friends of the Amur falcon’ programme for building awareness on conservation of biodiversity among the children and villagers in the areas which the Amur falcons visit for the third consecutive year. The  government, and the villages of Pangti, Ashaa and Sungro, stepped in;  Nagaland's chief minister Neiphiu Rio  also threatened to stop grants to villages involved in hunting the falcons. Village councils agreed to make the hunting of the falcons illegal, and levied a fine on hunters.

This accumulation of Amur falcons is the largest aggregation of these falcons along their vast migration route from Siberia through this gap in the Himalayas all the way to Somalia, Kenya and eventually South Africa.  This amazing transoceanic flight can takes weeks and includes many long nights flying and navigating in the dark. Truly extraordinary for a  bird that weighs about 150g  still having  enough strength, stamina and bodily reserves to fly more than half way around the world. Like the migrations of Masai Mara, tens of thousands of migrating Amur falcons from Siberia stop over in Nagaland lighting  the sky thick with flying birds.  

With regards – S. Sampathkumar                                                                            9^th Oct 2014

With inputs taken from The Hindu, The Indian Express;

photo credit : The Hindu (single falcon) National Geographic (falcons on wire).

horse saved from slaughter house turns out to be one with great past ...

There are games like Cricket, Football, Tennis, Hockey, Kabbadi, Table Tennis – and some more like Golf, Billiards – and Polo ! – which has some variations too.  The modern game of polo, though formalised and popularised by the British, is derived from the Indian state of  Manipur where the game was known as 'Sagol Kangjei', 'Kanjai-bazee', or 'Pulu'. The first polo club was established in the town of Silchar in Assam,  in 1834. There is water polo, horse polo and elephant polo too.

Horse Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet.  Polo is played professionally in 16 countries. It was formerly, but not currently, an Olympic sport. In horse polo, the mounts used are called 'polo ponies', although the term pony is purely traditional and the mount is actually a full-sized horse. Some say that an average rider with a brilliant horse can play better game than his actual skill level, while a best player cannot achieve much with the wrong type of horse.  Horse was domesticated hundreds of year ago and has been with man doing many chores.   The present day polo horse is the result of more than a century of careful genetic selection and breeding.  

As the game evolved, the needs of the polo player and their needs from their horses also increased. The best players started looking for the fastest horses so they could out-ride their opponents and get to the ball even quicker. They found it in the thoroughbred race horse, which turned out to be so fast that many high handicap polo horses share stallions with the horseracing world to inherit these racing traits.  Speed comes at a price and often manoeuvrability is sacrificed.  A modification in the rules about horses' height allowed the use of the thoroughbred racehorse in polo. In present day polo, the estimated ideal height of a polo horse is 156cm, which is more common height in thoroughbreds than in a crossbred.

A great majority of polo horses are in fact mares. Female horses are preferred for competitions over gelded males for several reasons. The polo pony is selected carefully for quick bursts of speed, stamina, agility and manoeuvrability. Temperament is critical; the horse must remain responsive under pressure and not become excited or difficult to control. A well trained horse will carry its rider smoothly and swiftly to the ball and can account for 60 to 75 percent of the player's skill and net worth to his team. Polo training generally begins at age three and lasts from about six months to two years. Each player must have more than one pony, so tired mounts can be exchanged for fresh mounts between or even during periods, called chukkers. 

Even as it is said that polo ponies are quite costly, a £450 horse saved from slaughterhouse turned out to be a world-class polo mount which belonged to Prince William and Harry's coach.  Going by this interesting report that appeared in Daily Mail in Sept 2013 – When Michelle Wrenn bought Nata from her former owner, she thought it was a gesture of compassion for an unremarkable animal. She had paid £450 for the beautiful 23-year-old chestnut horse, who could have been sent to the slaughterhouse, after her owner realised Nata was much older than previously thought. Though she thought she had 'seen something special' in the ageing animal, Mrs Wrenn, 54, never thought to look in to her past until her curiosity was stirred by the animal's exceptional grace when being ridden by a friend.

But after investigating Nata's pedigree, Mrs Wrenn was stunned to discover that Nata was one of the world's greatest polo horses, who moved in the same circles as the Royal Family. Calls to a vet who had formerly cared for Nata revealed that the chestnut mare was once the mount of polo legend Carlos Gracida, a man who was once considered the greatest player in the world. Mr Gracida is also a friend of Prince Charles, and his former coach, who also trained Prince William and Prince Harry.

Her former owner had bought Nata under the false impression that she was just 13, and resolved to sell her quickly or - if that wasn't possible - send her to slaughter.  Nata had been passed between dealers and didn’t have a proper home.  Mrs Wrenn said  ‘I had her passport and there was one stamp from an English vet. When I called him, he confirmed it was the well-known polo horse.' She also discovered that Nata had more recently been owned by socialite Royston Prisk, who had ridden her competitively as recently as this year. She managed to contact Mr Prisk, who was shocked to hear how close the 'extremely special' horse had come closer  to death.

Interesting to say the least.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

10^th Oct 2o14.

Trading warranty violation by Sailing vessel - Insurers repudiation held right - NCDRC

I had posted earlier on ‘dhows’ ……….. some of you might better know Dow Jones Industrial Average, one of the several stock market indices created by Wall Street Journal. A Dhow (Arabic) is traditionally sailing vessel primarily used along the coasts of Arabian peninsula, Pakistan, India and East of Africa. They traditionally have raised hull and a sharp pointed bow and are made of wood. In case you are still to visualise this in mind,  think of MGR - ‘Aayirathil oruvan’ & song ‘adho antha paravai pola’ – a story based on pirates at sea and plot made to release slavery and independence of labourers by Doctor MGR, protesting against the ruler of neidhal nadu. Jayalalitha played poongodi, daughter of ruler of kanni theevu.

fishing trawlers lined up at Kasimedu

Section 3(39) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1958 defines the Sailing Vessel as "Any description of vessel provided with sufficient sail area for navigation under sails alone, whether or not fitted with mechanical means of propulsion and includes a rowing boat or canoe but does not include a pleasure craft". Indian Insurers followed Marine Hull Tariff which had a special section applicable to all Sailing Vessels (Mechanised or Non-mechanised) valued upto Rs.50 lakhs. Vessels of higher value were rated independently. The Tariff  provided for insuring terms which primarily were CRO (cancellation returns only – meaning that there would be no refund for lay – up returns). The insuring terms were ITC – Hulls TLO (including salvage, salvage charges and sue and labour); incorporating P&I liabilities sub to cl 9 of ITC Hulls – Port Risks 20.7.87 or Institute Time Clauses – Hulls 1.10.83 which was on wider terms. The Tariff rating was on various trading warranties, of which the area of operation and the period of operation were essential parameters.  There were Trading warranties which prevented operation of vessel during monsoon/ specified periods.

With this background, do read this decision of National Forum in a case filed against National Insurance by a boat owner whose claim was repudiated. 

The reference is to a revision petition against the order of TN State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission by which the State Forum had allowed the appeal of Insurers against the order of Dist. Forum, Tuticorin.  By its aforesaid order, the District Forum had allowed the complaint of the petitioner holding that the respondent Insurance Company was deficient in service in rejecting her insurance claim in respect of a cargo vessel owned by her and directed the Insurance Company to pay Rs. 5 lakh (sum assured) with interest @ 10% per annum +  Rs. 5,000 towards compensation for mental agony and suffering and Rs. 2,000 towards the cost of the proceedings, within two months from the date of the order.

The petition was in respect of sailing vessel “MSV Bennaya”, insured for 5 lakhs.   The vessel sailed from Tuticorin Port in Tamil Nadu on 8.5.2003 carrying a cargo of bricks and wooden poles, encountered cyclonic weather, was severly damaged and had to be abandoned. A ship named MV Tiger Shark rescued the crew but the abandoned vessel sank with the cargo on board.  The Surveyor appointed by Insurer, inter alia, stated that by the time of its sinking, the insured vessel had travelled to a location which was outside its permitted route under the Trading Warranty (A) specified in the insurance policy. No letter of repudiation of the claim appears to have been issued before the complaint was filed and, hence, it was alleged in the complaint that the claim had not been settled for over two years.

On considering the pleadings and evidence brought on record, the District Forum held that it was not possible to conclude that the complainant had violated the Trading Warranty  and  partly allowed the complaint directing the Insurers to pay.  The Insurers appealed against the impugned order before the State Commission seeking reference to Trading Warranty which read, “(A). Warranted vessel employed for carriage of cargo and operations connected therewith on the east coast of Sri Lanka and east coast of India not north of Visakhapatnam and not South of Palk Strait.” The State Commission further observed that as pleaded in the complaint, the vessel sailed with full cargo from Tuticorin to Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The State Commission also noticed that from the pleadings it was clear that the vessel ran into a cyclone in the Andaman Sea where ultimately it sank. On the basis of the admitted facts, the State Commission concluded that the insured vessel was damaged and sank at a location in the Andaman Sea, which was not within the permitted area of operation as per the Trading Warranty.

The boat owner went on appeal before the National Commission.  During the course of the hearing, Insurer’s counsel produced a copy of a map purportedly depicting the route that the insured vessel was permitted to take as per the Trading Warranty and that it actually adopted after sailing from Tuticorin Port on 8.5.2003 in order to deliver the cargo at Port Blair. Nothing was either produced or submitted by the learned Counsel for the petitioner to controvert the statement that the insured vessel sank at a location that was clearly outside the route it was permitted to take under the Trading Warranty of the policy.

The Commission observed that from a reading of the Trading Warranty, it is clear that the phrase “… … not South of Palk Strait” is inconsistent with the route showed in the map produced.  However, it was admitted in the complaint that the vessel had sailed from Tuticorin Port to deliver the cargo at Port Blair and the location where it sank due to cyclone was in the Andaman Sea. Hence, it is clear that the route adopted by the vessel was outside the permitted area under the Trading Warranty and the Insurance Company cannot be held guilty of deficiency in service in repudiating the insurance claim.  The National Forum accordingly dismissed the revision petition and affirmed the order of the State Commission.

Placed for the purpose of learning (by all of us connected with Insurance) and does not purport to be any sort of comment on the decision.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

19th June 2014.

Citation : III (2012) CPJ 724 (NC)- NCDRC in First appeal no. 387 of 2006 decided in 2012.